27th of April 2008
We just made a really good off roading tour. Starting up from Thingvellir and heading north towards Langjokull ice-cap.
Bessi in his Toyota Hilux double cab with 38 inch Mudders.
The snow is all wet and it makes the snow difficult to drive through.
The weather is as good as it can be with clear sky and a light northerly breeze. We can't help but stop to enjoy the mountain view and of course to take pictures.
Omar on his 1988 LandCruiser 60 with 44 inch Dick Cepec tires.
As we get further north on the ice-cap a bank of clouds or fog is limiting our vision. It is a little disturbing to have this as your only view forward. I can only drive by the help of the map and GPS system and put my full trust in that.
Still we went all the way to Thursaborg (means literally "city of trolls") hoping that it would clear for us. If you look closely at the picture you can see a small change in the color of the white. If I drive further I will experience a 10-20 meter drop (30-60 feet)!
As we head back south we soon get back out of the fog and the day is clear and beautiful again.
On the way back I realize I have seriously miscalculated my fuel reserves and begin driving as fuel efficiently as I can.
As the weather is so good it is just too tempting to explore more.
Because of my fuel is so low I hitch a ride with Bessi up the Geitlandsjokull ice-cap.
4x4 Off Roads!
Then we head down the same route back towards Skjaldbreidur with Geitlandsjokull in at our side.
Thorisjokull ice-cap.
On the decent down Langjokull we see some interesting lines up the side of Thorisjokull that look like tracks by 4x4 so we could try that route.
Again I hitch a ride with Bessi.
Even though the tracks turn out to be by snowmobiles we head on. Omar leads the way and goes up with relative ease.
The number of horses under Bessi's hood are simply not high enough to get us up the second steep part so we start up on foot.
Omar suddenly appears and invites us for a sightseeing tour around the ice-cap.
After that I really start to worry about the fuel and even Omar is getting low on the meter.
Bessi with plenty of fuel left in his spare tank leads the way and we use his tracks to make it easier.
In the end I am running only on the smell of gas left in the tank and finally the engine dies from starvation.
Omar and Bessi take care of pulling my truck down to Thingvellir where I get my wife to bring me a can of fuel from town.
On a day like this it is surprising how few other 4 wheelers we meet.
